Used 2018 Dodge Charger SRT 392 4dr Sedan (6.4L 8cyl 8A) Consumer Reviews

Far Better than I Thought it would be!

During the summer of 2018 I was pondering either the Mustang GT or Camaro for a new true high performance car. I then owned a 2013 Mustang V6 which was THE MOST DISAPPOINTING CAR I had ever purchased. There is a reason why you can find a ton of aftermarket performance and handling fixes online for the Mustang. It just is not what you might be expecting. Now I would never have considered a Charger. Not for a minute. But we had an air trip and a rental agency put us in a 2018 5.7L Charger. I thought, this will be fun. It was way beyond just fun. After ten miles, my wife said, this is the car we should buy. It was unbelievably comfortable for my 6 foot frame and for my wife as well. It was stone quiet on the highway. It got 26 m[pg on our freeway drives. It handled like a dream, i.e., tight, responsive and quick to turn in. Try as I might I could not provoke any dreaded understeer. The brakes (all four wheels had 4 piston Brembos and slotted rotors) were fantastic. The suspension soaked up the bumps, but the car had virtually zero body roll or the evil hard stop nose dive habits. We cruised for a while at 100 mph on I-91 in VT with no sense that this was a problem. The 8 speed ZF transmission shifted quickly and smoothly and always seemed to be in the right gear for the situation. Paddle shifters were instantly available and worked perfectly. We had the car for about ten days and loved every minute in it. When we returned home I sped to a dealer and drove the SRT 6.4 L rig. Astounding power and handling. I drove some bumpy twisters that would put my 2013 Mustang (which had about $500 of aftermarket suspension fixes) totally out of shape (I mean totally). The big Dodge just spooled through those turns suspension silently doing its thing. I learned a ton just by crawling all over the SRT. The front suspension is a dual ball joint arrangement. It works. Period. The rear independent suspension multi-link. Turns out this suspension setup came from Daimler Benz years back and has been substantially improved by the Chrysler engineers. The shocks are Bilstein gas types. I had l onged for those for years instead of the OEM junk that came with my Mustang. The hood is aluminum, nice to have that in my car not in some pickup truck. The front brakes have cooling air ducts direct from the grille. So I bought the 6.4 L SRT with the Dynamics Package which added 6 piston Brembos to the front along with huge two piece slotted rotors (lighter than all cast iron rotors). 4 piston Brembos rear. Forged alloy 20" x 9.5" wheels. Some other features hidden beneath the metal: Engine seamlessly drops to 4 cylinders for low load situations thus reducing fuel consumption but jumps to 8 cylinders if you need instant power. Battery in the trunk to help weight distribution. Limited slip diff standard, Fully lined trunk and trunk lid. Trunk floor of conformal molded plastic with a lift loop and hook to hold it open (Mustang trunk floor was a piece of masonite). Hood supports are gas struts not a junky prop rod (Mustang). Locking gas cap released from inside the car (not available on Mustang). Awesome sounding multi-mode exhaust standard ($900 extra on Mustang). Lovely underhood area showing off the huge engine with all wiring and plumbing carefully laid out and encased in protective materials. Power adjustable front seats with fully adjustable lumbar supports (they move up and down as well) for both driver and passenger (only for driver on Mustang). Fabulous standard sound system. Large crisp center display/touch screen for all the techy features with a second center panel digital display between the tach and speedo featuring all-selectable special instruments plus a personalized setup capability. It will even chide you if you forget to cancel a turn signal. Cool. As mentioned elsewhere here, the car is set up for both Apple and Android phones which will give you a full nav package display in the center panel. HID headlights, all other exterior lights LED. Automated blind spot warning (audible and in mirrors). I am going to run out of space. I could go on for another page or so. I am about 18 months in to having this car. We've taken several long trips. It has proven to be flawless and very enjoyable to drive. My wife loves it. It is so quiet inside when cruising we can easily converse. It has not yet experienced a single problem (quite a change from my 2013 Mustang which after a few months could find its own way back to the dealer). If you have not considered this car you will be doing yourself a favor by going for a test drive. I would call it a world class 4 door sedan with fantastic handling, brakes and power. Lovely to look at and a joy to drive and own.